FREEDOM FIGHTER
Cindy saw her dog Jay creeping out of the basement, heading outside. She spotted a tiny tail hanging out of his mouth. She sighed, Jay was at it again. She had adopted him from a shelter. Little was known about him, except he had spent most of his life outside in an old shack.
Jay settled in well. He adored Cindy, his new home plus his food dish that was served to him every night with a delicious meal. He was a gentle soul. He had one habit that had Cindy perplexed. Jay would go down to the basement, catch a small mouse, hold it gently in his mouth where it would get a dog drool bath. He’d take his cargo, go outside into the pasture where he’d spit it out. The mouse would scamper off for the tall timber. Jake would bark, chase his tail, race around in a happy riot before bouncing back to Cindy.
She was really unsure of how to handle this. She wanted the mice gone, but Jay released them unharmed. Still, it was one mouse less in her home, worth a doggie cookie.
One day she told Jay to wait, while she examined one of the rescued mice. While he held the tiny creature in his drooling mouth, she used a bingo dabber to place a tiny dot of blue on the mouse, then allowed Jay out. He went to his regular spot, let the mouse go then did usual happy dance.
On a hunch the next day, she checked the mouse Jay was packing out. It had a small blue dot on it’s bottom. She was amused. Jay was catching the same mouse over and over.
Cindy just smiled, as long as it was the same wee mouse, and not it’s entire family, she would quietly allow Jay to do his daily catch and release game. It seemed to bring him a lot of pleasure. It was his work. She grinned when she tossed him a cookie, “Jay, your’re one of a kind, a real freedom fighter!”
